Importance Of Government Essay

“Government’s first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives”, as quoted by former US President, Ronald Reagan. A government is a body with the authority and power to enforce laws within a community and is the system by which the state or the community is controlled. It ensures a secure and stable environment to enable innovation and development by providing security, and protecting against internal and external threats such as violence and conflicts. It should allow the citizens of the country to improve themselves in every possible aspect. Private affairs are matters of private or personal concern, as opposed to the public good which the government has an interest or indeed the duty to protect. Inevitably, it may have to intervene in private affairs so as to prevent possible harm to the public good. This ensures that a greater majority of the society benefits.The government may thus intrude into the personal freedom of individuals through

... The condition of man ... is a condition of war of everyone against everyone.” Many countries in the world today face security threats from international terrorism, foreign subversion and espionage. For instance, the government has the power to check private communications between individuals as part of anti terrorism measures. It even has the right to detain without trial so that suspected terrorists do not have any opportunity to inflict substantial harm. This can be seen through, for example, the Internal Security Department (ISD) of Singapore and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States of America. The ISD has been able to detain several individuals who posed terrorist threats by checking their private internet usage and correspondence, for example, Mas Selamat bin Kastari. As can be seen, the government has power and duty to protect the citizens from threats or harm, even if it interferes with their personal